Biography
Dr. Nyatundo George Oruongo is an accomplished legal scholar with over six years of experience in academic teaching and research. Currently serving as Assistant Professor in Law at Christ Academy Institute of Law, Bengaluru. He specializes in constitutional law, human rights, governance and public policy. His research focuses particularly on the constitutional exercise of public power, with emphasis on access to information, rule of law and good governance principles. Dr. Nyatundo holds Doctor of Philosophy in Law from Karnatak University, Dharwad and Master of Laws (LL.M) from Karnataka State Law University, Hubballi.
Conference contributions 1
BEYOND THE COLONIAL TONGUE:
Interdisciplinary perspectives on AI, translation, and educational equity in Africa
Linguistic pluralism in Africa withers within ill-designed artificial intelligence (AI) translation systems. The digital form clothed in colonial era one-size-fits-all linguistic suit entrenches educational inequity across the African region. This paper broadly interrogates the intercourse of AI, translation and access to education in Africa. The study critically examines how today's' AI translation tools imitate colonial linguistic prejudices in African educational settings. It also lays down normative frameworks for ethically responsible AI translation advancement that nourishes African linguistic and cultural sovereignty. The study hypothesizes that European AI translation models impregnated with prejudicial colonial design principles systematically replicate and reinforce historical inequalities in African educational systems. Contribution by Canagarajah (2013) proves that language control suppresses epistemic plurality. Ngugi wa Thiong'o (1986) persuades that linguistic displacement is cultural dispossession. Mignolo (2009) pictures this within coloniality of knowledge. Nekoto et al., (2020) expose a glaring commercial underperformance on African languages. Addo et al. (2023) and the Masakhane Research Foundation document the dearth of African-language training datasets, a structural gap this paper fills. This doctrinal study finds no authoritative continental framework that governs linguistically equitable AI deployment in African education. This proposal contributes to a rights-based, culturally responsive framework for AI translation governance in African educational systems.